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PS4 Review: Costume Quest 2

Costume Quest 2 literally picks up right after the expansion, Grubins on Ice. Wren and her brother return to their home with everything a little odd. Soon after all hell breaks loose when an evil dentist uses a time wizard to banish candy and Halloween from existence. Now it’s up to the twins and their friends to rescue Halloween in a time traveling adventure. It kind of lacks the heart of original and it feels phoned in at times. That said it’s still charming, cute, and funny especially with the visual gags. Yep, it’s Candy Corn.

To those that missed the first adventure, for shame, Costume Quest is a turn based RPG with timed attacks similar to the Mario RPG series. A perfectly timed attack, or defend can result in a critical boost. Cards can also be played in battle ranging from healing to being able to attack twice in one round. Timing based RPGs are great in that they engage the player to stay focused in the battle. However in CQ2’s case, battles drag on way too long. Weirdly enough boss battles are much easier, making the balance feel weird and too much of a drag. They’re problems the first game had as well. It’s a repetitive slog that shows little rewards for grinding.

Graphically, even on the PS4, the game hasn’t displayed much improvement either. The vibrant colors and cel-shaded visuals still make the game stand out however. The time mechanics were great inspiration in order to give the team some leeway on the locations. It’s a short game so anything beyond the video would kind of be a spoiler. The enjoyment of this game is experiencing it personally.

Costume Quest 2 is a sequel by the numbers. Not much, if anything, has changed and it’s a disappointment. The sequel is always a make, or break situation. The first Assassin’s Creed and Uncharted games were okay, but the second installments were very much improved. Costume Quest 2 is not that, but it’s still a fun game through its many flaws.

Score: 3/5 Stars

Special Notes: The publisher provided a review code for the game. This article was originally published on October 31, 2014 via my Examiner account before the website shut down.